pssst!
Surprise! I'm still here, still alive and still kicking.
It's only been a little more than 6 years since I've posted. Once a year I am reminded to pay my fee to keep my blog alive and I pay it then scroll through the posts - mostly cringing, but enjoying the pictures, just, you know, reminiscing.
Then I proceed to beat myself up for a little while for not doing anything with this thing but quickly tuck all the nasty thoughts away for another year, 'cause who likes to dwell.
So, what am I doing back? I'm forcing myself to finally take that proofreading course I paid for way back in 2019. Maybe it's to hold myself accountable or to document the process? Is blogging still a thing? Maybe it's the cool thing to do now that it's so retro? Don't look at me, I know nothing but that's what I'm going with.
Anyway, I figured out how to change the name of the blog (yippee!) now I just need to work on the banner and my intro because all that's changed.
At some point soon I'll get into the nitty gritty of where I've been hiding.
Until then!
~P
I am kind of in love with epistolary novels. This one is part epistolary, part Doctor Who-ish aliens and a whole lotta fun. The main character wakes up surrounded by bodies with a note in her hand- excellent way to start a book! I loved this book. What I didn't love was the narrator. There are long pauses in sentences and a whole lot of up-talking. Although she did a bang up job on the individual character voices. It's weird. Anyway, I loved this book so much that I've pre-ordered the second book Stiletto.
I was so excited when I heard about this book and read the blurb. Look at that cover! Bea-u-ti-ful. Forget it, it has squat to do with the book. I was soooooo disappointed. I had such high expectations that I was a bit heartbroken that I didn't like it at all. I found that I disliked every single character and I couldn't give a fig about any of story.
"For fans of Sarah Addison Allen" Yeah, that's a big stretch. I loved that it was set in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow and I do love books with magic in them, it was even set IN a knitting shop! However, I just couldn't quite get into it as much as I wanted to. I definitely didn't like the ending. The little love story thrown in is sweet though.
Much like the first book in the novel, this was a fun read. Who doesn't love "tea sodden" historians traveling through time? I definitely needed this one after the last two books that I had pinned my high hopes on had disappointed me.
I think this book was suggested to me because of my lovedy-love of the Flavia de Luce series. I definitely liked it although I don't remember much about it. What I do remember is that it made me want to really learn how to embroider, even though Callie is railing against "suitable female pastimes" for a young lady during the turn of the century.
A "farmy" memoir recommended to me from Goodreads. I don't know, I didn't hate it, it was just okay. There were hilarious parts of the book and she definitely doesn't sugar coat anything but the crassness was off-putting. Sure, you can talk about your sheep eating her placenta; it's grody! it's real! it's natural! but the language was boorish.
I picked this one because it's the same author of the Chronicles of St. Mary's but it's a completely separate book. And that's where I failed as a reader. I kept expecting it to be a book from that series, so for about the first quarter of the book I was in madcap, harried mode and this isn't that type of book. But it is a good short book. Historical mystery/romance set in England. If that's your thing, you'll enjoy this.
This one was a Daily Deal from Audible so I snatched it up. I'm glad I did because it isn't a book that would pick otherwise. It's a good book, interesting, heartwarming, set in a small town in the south. I find religions fascinating, my world religion classes in college were some of my favorites, and this book had me doing a lot of research on Quakerism. 
I had to go back and check my account, this too was a sale item from Audible. I couldn't figure out what was happening in the beginning of the book, there was so much back and forth with a lot of characters being thrown at you. This is one instance where a physical book would've done better because I couldn't flip back and forth to figure out "who that was again?". Very charming with a huge cast of players that once you get down, gets good.
The author, Ariana Franklin, whose other medieval fiction series I loooved (Mistress of the Art of Death), was in the midst of writing this book when she passed away, luckily for lovers of the genre her daughter finished writing the book. If you love historical fiction, it's a great book. You know how they say you learn something new every day? This book had me researching so many things and Asafoetida topped the list.
Do you know what I failed to notice? That this was the same author as The Wishing Thread. I must have gotten sucked in again by the "lovers of Sara Addison Allen", sheesh, what a chump. Anyway, there is magical realism/fantasy along the lines of the aforementioned Ms. Allen and then there is this. The premise is great, the story is told badly and large parts are just silly. I don't know why I gave it the rating that I did, but I'm going to stick with it because maybe I am not remembering a redeeming quality.
A wonderful children's book that I heartily enjoyed. An original story with great suspense, there were many times where I was squeeing "eeeek!" and more than once I thought I had it all figured out, which I didn't. There are a few times where you could definitely tell it was a children's book but that didn't diminish my enjoyment.
As someone who has professed to adore all things Sherlock, not on a Sherlockian level though, I realized that I am a fraud as I had never actually read any Sherlock novels. In order to remedy that I downloaded this and the second book for our fall road trip to Montreal/Connecticut. It reiterated just how bad a detective I am. I must admit I got lost when the story switched from one continent to another. I had to check and make sure the iPod hadn't messed up. Fantastic book though, I highly recommend it!
This gem we listened to on our way back home from our spectacular little road trip. And just like the other Sherlock book, this is a great read. I'm making it a point to make sure I read them all!
Do you love the movie The Princess Bride? Read this book. I have loved the movie from the moment I saw it. I've owned it in VHS format, DVD and Blu-ray. I haven't read the book, The Princess Bride, but I do own it, so hopefully I'll get around it sooner rather than later. Have you read the book? This is another instance where I love that I listened to the audiobook rather than read it because all of the actors and Rob Reiner narrate it. So much awesome.
I pre-ordered this when it was announced because it's Neil Gaiman! What I didn't realize was that it was a compilation of short stories. Short stories aren't my favorite because I want moooore! My three favorite were the Doctor Who, the American Gods and the Ocean at the End of the Lane stories. Why? Because there is already more to the stories. Again, Neil Gaiman beautifully narrates his story and it makes it mucho good.
Hey, guess what I read? A historical novel. Shocking! One of the docs suggested this to me and it took me a long while to get to actually reading it. Beautiful writing describing the Italian Alps and life in small villages there; New York and small town Minnesota during World War I through an immigrant's eyes. However there were more than a few eye-rolling bits where I found it hard to suspend disbelief and thought "oh, come on now". Yet I am a sucker for scenery so that helps.
Oh how excited I was to stumble over this book recommendation, it had all the markers of a book that I would like. It was very roller-coasterish for me. I really loved it in the beginning and then, boom! out of nowhere, it lost me due to the implausiblity. Then it rebuilt my interest and I started liking it again, trying to blow off the bad bits, and guess what happened? Out of nowhere the bottom fell out and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. This book was all over the map for me.
What was this book even about? I was confused and discombobulated throughout the entire book. I loved Abby and Red, hated her in-laws and have no memory of their children. I don't know what the point of this book was.
A short-story prequel that, you know, I should've read before reading Mr. Penumbra's 24- Hour Bookstore. Regardless, this is a nice little back story of the titular character, Ajax Penumbra, and how he came to own the 24-hour bookstore.
Hey, guess what I read? A book set in the South. Shocker! A touching story told in the not too distant past. It kept me thoroughly engrossed in the story from the beginning and it had a nice pace the kept me listening in the parking lot more than once.
My mother and sister have said for years that this is one of their favorite books and I'm not sure why in the heck it took me so dang long to read it! I have seen the movie, many times, but I just never picked up the book. And, like most book adaptations, the book is 1000x better. One of my favorite parts were the little segues to the weekly newsletters from Dot Weems.
I was asking a friend of mine for book recommendations and she told me of a book she heard about on NPR during her commute that morning. We immediately got to Googling it and it seems like it would be right up my alley but, meh. It was just meh. Unless of course you're really into the East India Company and British occupied India, then it may be to your liking, but it wasn't to mine.
This book was fun. Just a good, rollicking fun read. A little time travel, a little mystery and some history thrown in there among funny characters make this a great good read! Right after finishing this book I vowed to read the other six books and five short stories.
A good mystery novel for all you mystery lovers out there. I had NO clue whatsoever who the killer was until I was told at the end, a good detective I am not, but that doesn't stop me from trying! I've made it a goal to read one book a year set in Michigan and this one fit the bill perfectly. Wanna know the cool thing? I know Eric, we grew up two houses down from each other. He's my fourth, actual, real life, friend who's an author!
Staying on the Michigan train, I picked this book up off my bookshelf where it had lingered for three years. This book was hilarious. Like, laugh-snort-tears funny. I read many a passage out loud to my Beloved because he was staring at me as I was cackling uncontrollably. But, and it's a big but, and it's why this memoir gets a low rating from me, Mr. Rouse is mean, rude, judgmental and snotty. I don't like petty.
A paperback that I picked up from the library for 50 cents and had been languishing on a bookshelf, forgotten. In an effort to read some of the books that had been in my to-read list the longest, I finally picked it up. I remembering it being okey-dokey. The plot was interesting, some parts were implausible but, it was exciting. I remember thinking that the first half was laid out well but that the end was rushed.
I got this free from Amazon. It's a short story prequel to Lost Lake which I had read in 2014. Way to read the description first, Poppy! I liked it, a lot. I wish I had actually read this before reading Lost Lake, I think it would've made reading Lost Lake make more sense in my mind.
Another magical Sarah Addison Allen book. This one is a follow-up to her first book Garden Spells. I really enjoyed this one because you got to see the characters that you loved from the first book years later and more developed. Aaaaannnnd a mystery was solved! Excellent read.
Why had I never read this book?! This book is a classic for a reason, it is amazing. I loved it so much that I listened to it twice (Sissy Spacek did a fantastic job!). What else is there to say other than I will probably reread this every year. 
After the disappointment of the other homesteading on a shoestring budget book this one was what I needed. I thought it was funny and the you-can-do-it-too-edness was a good shot in the arm.
Depressing. What a terrifying reminder of the horror that humanity can be. I don't do well with torture. The historical aspect and the actual writing is what saved it from one star. Also, it's not really about the Hangman's Daughter.